From: Marty Galyean (marty@heavyreckoning.com)
Date: Wed Feb 08 2006 - 04:01:17 PST
alleywayguns@bacavalley.com wrote:
>Rick
> I think slam dunk is Stu in disguise. I fell if "both" don't like the History,then they can delete it!
>Mark M-886(for sale)
>
>
>
What it comes down to is what the those who take the time to host and
administer the list want.
Do they want an 'on topic' list where members don't have to use the
delete key (very often) or a 'topic centered' list that is more like a
friendly gathering of folks who have something in common and the delete
key is central.
Both make sense for different reasons. The 'on topic' list can be a lot
of work keeping people on topic, but is also a lot better for searching
and gleaning info from.
I admin a list that is 'topic centered' and we use the delete key a
lot. It pre-existed my admin of it, but in its 'topic centered' form it
has survived over a decade. You don't find many strictly topic oriented
lists that last that long.
We consider the list a 'sports bar'. And just like you don't kick
people out of a sports bar for talking about something other than
football, we tolerate all posts except:
(1) Brash statements without cites or factual backing (like posts about
how aliens from outer space are running the local McDonalds etc). The
stronger the statement, the more the need for links to backing data etc
and the more hazing the poster will get from other members for posting
crap without facts.
(2) Personal or ad hominem attacks. One can attack an argument, but not
the person, on list. This is the most important rule on the list and
the *only* reason anyone has ever been booted.
(3) No spamming the list with general broadcast ads unless it is an ad
for a specific item that is ON TOPIC. Here that would be a military
vehicle or parts or literature for the same, I'd imagine. If you own a
business that deals in a significant ON TOPIC stuff then a monthly, at
most, posting is suggested. Any more frequent than that and folks will
just end up deleting without looking anyway.
(4) The list should ideally self regulate. It is not only an issue if a
member violates the above (thus failing to self-regulate), but almost as
big of an issue if the other members let them get away with it. If the
moderator has to step in because the list failed to self regulate, woe
unto the members!
Other things that seem to make it work is that all attachments are
stripped and post size is limited to 100k or so. This keeps the byte
volume of the list down, while the message count is still high enough to
warrant the delete key. People who want to share an attachment can send
it to those interested off list.
The topic centered format seems to allow a list to survive through dry
spells better and also meshes better with any normal social gatherings
that members might attend, for instance, there isn't a bouncer at any MV
shows that members may attend that kick them out for talking about
something other than MVs!
On the other hand, an 'on topic' list has its place. And this may be
one of them. It is firmly up to those who do the legwork to maintain
the list and nobody else. Maintaining a list is a pain sometimes and
those who aren't doing it really don't appreciate the effort sometimes.
Marty
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.4 : Tue Jul 18 2006 - 21:40:39 PDT